India

Friday, March 29, 2013

Suddenly, IPL is opening up cracks in Indian sovereignty. A bad precedent is being set by blocking Sri Lankan players from entering Tamil Nadu, but allowing them to enjoy the rest of India. Everybody seems to be focused on the advantage it gives the Chennai Superkings, but nobody has picked up the Indian pride angle yet.

India is already set to condemn the war atrocities of Sri Lanka which the Sinhalese majority in that country had managed to hide from the world for a long time. But apparently only Tamil Nadu feels outraged while the rest of India goes "Meh". If this pattern continues, we will have low morale across many institutions, including the Indian military.

What's next? If there is trouble in Bangladesh against non-Muslim Bengalis and they scamper to the West Bengal border, will the IPL only block the Bangladeshi players from playing in West Bengal? Are only Indian Christians supposed to feel the pain when Christians are attacked in Egypt and Iraq? Are only Indian Shias supposed to feel the pain when a mosque is bombed in Pakistan? Are only Indian Sunnis supposed to be outraged when Syria starts gassing its own citizens?

This is a slippery slope. You can pretty much guarantee that Tamilians and concerned Indians will be protesting outside all cricket grounds in Maharashtra, Delhi and anywhere else they muster enough numbers. And it will not take long for BJP and Shivsena to represent the Indian side of the coin. IPL may be tax free, but it is merely a vehicle for filling up Congress coffers in various quarters.

Whatever happened to the solidarity that was shown during the South African apartheid era?

Monday, February 6, 2012

Mr. Mukherjee reminds me of the beggar in our neighborhood who threw out small change with some choice expletives. Mr. Mukherjee's complaint seems to be not that India does not need the money, but that it is not a big enough amount. A "No thanks" would have been better than a "No that's peanuts". A posh beggar is still a beggar, not a gentleman.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

10. You will get a ticket and you will to pay a three figure fine for traffic violations.
9. Anything that gets done in three days will not get done in 10 minutes.
8. It will not be required to pay 3 lakhs for getting trained to be a police constable.
7. North Indian will stop vying for Indian Government jobs and all Indian will stop vying for State Government jobs. Same goes to municipal jobs. And all those jobs will pay more salaries to attract recruits.
6. Jail will be filled with poor uneducated criminals and rich Government workers that did not get the memo.
5. Millions of Indians will figure out where the courthouse is. They will also find out that parking and other basic amenities in courthouses are woefully inadequate. Tips: Use the restroom before you leave for court and find nearby restaurants with good food and good restrooms.
4. Knowing a politician will become much more important. You can still get a politician to speak on your behalf by campaigning for him.
3. Knowing the local language and being the "son of the soil" will gain importance.
2. People giving bribes will end up in courts and in jails.
1. Politicians will figure a way around the whole mess and continue their British ways of ravaging the country and feel good about it at the same time.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

In what has become an annual tamasha, British government sends "aid" to India and the fiscal conversatives (and other forms of conservatives) in Britain complain. Here's an idea. How about India asking Britain to stop the aid? The time for such matters is long gone! Instead, get the money back from the Swiss banks where the politicians have hidden the sweat and toil of millions of Indians. Notice the extreme efficiency of our political bureaucracy in terms of "receiving" aid and the utter ineptitude in sending a formal request for Swiss assets of corrupt Indians. India does not need alimony any more, Indian children are quite capable of taking care of Mother India.

Even the Egyptians did it in a couple of days. Now that the Swiss boat in sinking, the Indian politician rats will take the cheese elsewhere pretty quick. Then, miraculously, our "official" request will be made correctly and nothing will be found. The question to ask should be "Who has or had Swiss accounts and what was the amount?"

Friday, October 1, 2010

In India, all women must confront the cultural pressure to bear a son. The consequences of this preference is a disregard for the lives of women and girls. From birth until death they face a constant threat of violence. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/publication/undesired

Monday, April 19, 2010

Now the whole kitchen sink is being thrown at Lalit Modi. Looks like Sharad Pawar has provided the sacrificial lamb to Congress party, probably in exchange for protection of his own bank account. While Shashi Tharoor will be happily claiming his innocence and Pushkaring away, Modi will be in a neighborhood prison soon. At this point, this has degenerated into politicians saving their skins. And providing a lesson to people that expose the functioning of the Great Congress party of Mahatma Gandhi in any way. Topi Pehenke Topi Lagao, Kisine Pakda To Usko Mahatma Gandhi se bhi Jyada Nanga Kar do.

The IPL can easily become a casualty, similar to how India is a casualty while politicians shore up their bank accounts while wearing their spotless whites and crooked smiles. I doubt there will be a fourth season.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Knowing how the Indian corruption system works, Lalit Modi will be eased out of his job soon. An MP like Shashi Tharoor cannot pull the strings that caused the initial auction to be cancelled, there are bigger fish in this murky pond. Those folks are not happy that Shashi Tharoor was outed; now the income tax department will find thousands of irregularities in Modi's bank account. I hope Sharad Pawar is still on Modi's side. If he is not, Modi may be out even before the third season of IPL is over. Hopefully is was the NCP leader Sharad Pawar that asked Modi to out the Congress leadership group that was trying to take over an IPL franchise.

That particular Congress leadership group has already made it's move. Modi will now be labeled as a tax cheat and kicked out and will probably end up in jail for a short period. The Delhi franchise that is close to Modi is already in trouble; they have already been hit with crores of tax liabilities and fines. The tax system is India is a complete joke; it will now take around 20 years for these folks to prove their innocence. At which point, they will get their money back, without any interest.

Hopefully this particular shadow group is not bigger than Pawar; at this point, it does look like these are really big politicians dragging Modi to the ground. Sharad Pawar will get his revenge during the next set of Maharashtra elections. The IPL will go on without Lalit Modi, but it will just not be the same sense of adventure and excitement.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Wonder what the replay umpire saw! Collingwood was clearly notout, and the umpire kicked him out quickly. Real bad third umpiring! The legs were definitely in the air as the ball touched his hands. Since he was coming in from the boundary, that was a six. The commentators seem to influence the third umpire. The KKR folks seem to have mastered the art of claiming the catch; David Warner was almost a victim earlier.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Looks like America is making some good gains against the Taliban. Pakistan has been happy to "eat up" the money and provide "assistance" until now. Now that the end game is near and Taliban is getting decimated, they want to "mediate" with what is essentially their hand in the pot.

The US has been pretty gullible and they will surely fall for this trick too. Maybe they are not too gullible; a fighting China/India/Pakistan without the US anywhere near the region is probably good for them in the long run. India will surely have a much stronger and willing to fight enemy after the Afghans go back to proxy Pakistani rule after the US departure. Any hope of education and progress that Indians have bought to Afghanistan will be quickly snuffed out by the next Pakistani puppet regime in Afghanistan. Well to do neighbors don't go well with fanatic poverty and misery.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

The increase in suicides in India, especially after the movie "3 idiots" is discouraging. The actual death suicide is not damaging, the other suicide attempt where the guy miraculously survives without any mental issues or no head trauma to himself is the one causing all the problems. And in a movie where "All iz well", the guys try to go the other way quite frequently and the central character is breaking the law by being an imposter.

One solution to the problem(something that happens in the USA) is to make private and public education equally expensive, whether you are in a government college or not, for middle class families and above. That way, parents do not have the carrot of free education dangling in front of them and they do not flog the kids in turn. Scholarships should be given only to the academically or athletically brilliant, which in turn would allow kids the option of excelling in sports. The whole problem is that the cheap education of government college is making monsters out of parents and they start early in their insults to their children. The movies gives these kids some easy ways out of the pressure cooker situations out of which they do not see escapes.

The pressure is not needed. Infact, you prevent the kid from having any managerial aptitude down the line due to the psychological damage that is inflicted on the kid.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

We were right about the funny logic of Pakistan where it was ceding territory to terrorists and marking the spot with an X. Now they are attacking those spots themselves and will get tens of billions of dollars from the US government to improve it's "fighting capabilities" to fight those pesky terrorists. At about 100 million dollars per killed terrorist, we have the praise the folks who are doing the cost - benefit analysis here. A Pakistani terrorist killed by Pakistan in Pakistan is yielding a higher return for Pakistan than a Pakistani terrorist killed in India.

The next Pakistan initiated war will not go as smoothly as Kargil now. There will be much more to pay for India as all the US technology and logistical expertise pours in Pakistan. Not a bad deal for US too; India and Pakistan will continue to be locked in a death embrace much like the British had planned and hoped we would, pre-independence. One less potential superpower to worry about for the rest of the world.

India can only hope for the best and continue to be vigilant. And upgrade it's own capabilities in a non-corrupt fashion to match all the new US gizmos that would be hanging off a Pakistani soldier the next time they foray into India with renewed confidence and technology.

US can easily track that all the money they give to Pakistan to fight terrorists is going into the nuclear weapons enrichment program. Pakistan is probably betting that the US does not care and they are probably right. The billions will continue to flow in and the Pakistani military will continue to use that money to send their sons to US colleges and to buy weapons that can be used to fight the Indian army.

Monday, April 20, 2009

People are getting surprised at the Slumdog Millionaire child actor "adoption" episode. But prostitution in the form on instant nikah, sex and talaaq have been happening in India for a while now.

Old or pedophile sheikhs rent hospitals instead of hotels and then get "married" via local agents, have sex with minor girls and "divorce", all in the comfort of their hospital bed. Poor and unscrupulous muslims know that they can sell their daughters this way for some quick cash.

Jaslok hospital in Mumbai serves as the main "hospital" for these sheikhs. Hyderabad is another major area where these shiekhs arrive for pleasure.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Added later: Sharad Pawar is still in Congress alliance, but has done enough maneuvering to become PM if the opportunity presents itself. Taliban is murdering it's way to Islamalabad and it is out of the reach of drones due to fears of collateral damage. The puppet Pakistani government is watching the Taliban mayhem with concealed glee and fake outrage. The IPL is now in South Africa, but at times designed for an Indian audience.

Now that Sharad Powar is out of Congress, there should be no expectation of extra security. This year, the IPL should go on with normal security and with Indian players. Some foreign players will drop off and there will be many more available to fill up the spots. There will be overseas revenue losses as pay per view viewers are just not sure if the events will take place or not. So the organizers have to come out with positive statements soon.

It does not pay to act as if India is a part of Pakistan in matters of security and well-being. The terrorists may be a great threat, but don't expect things to get better next year or the year after that. Thanks to the drones, terrorists have moved their business to places that are more crowded. They do not risk being killed by a missile, where hiding behind women and children does not work.

The current Pakistani government should be able to sputter on for another six months or so before one more merciful intervention from the military, with support from America.

India has to be more worried about the Pakistan/America nexus in the long run. When the Americans and Russian left Afghanistan last time, Afghanistan turned into a living hell. All those terrorist cowards may flock towards Indian borders for more security and to avoid being "droned" to death this time around.

The American policy is veering dangerously close to the Pakistani policy towards terrorists: "Don't bother us and we will praise you and even protect you. We will not call you enemies and will give you back your "dignity" ". Apparently this is working in Iraq. Americans do not seem to understand the power of their own dollars and they are mistaking bribery for cooperation. Just like they thought these same terrorists were freedom fighters the last time they were around these areas. They want to revert back to the same philosophy as it will protect US citizens at the cost of a few dollars.

This is a great policy for US citizens, but at the cost of blood of Indian citizens as terrorists are being given every incentive to move out of the Afghanistan border so that "success" can be declared. Hopefully India will take some steps to protect it's own interests and avenge the terror attack on Mumbai in the process.